Sophie's Snail

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Small but very determined, Sophie is everyone's favourite farmer-to-be! A classic story for young readers by the beloved author of Babe.From the beloved author of Babe comes the first of six stories about Dick King-Smith's most adored (human!) character, the inimitable Sophie, re-imagined twenty years later by the witty, perceptive paintbrush of the award-winning Hannah Shaw. Sophie loves animals of all kinds, but how will she grow up to be a farmer if she is not allowed any of her own? She goes looking for creatures to keep in her menagerie, but all she seems to find is trouble - yikes! And there is one pest she certainly doesn't want around: her prissy new neighbour, Dawn...

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Set in Great Britain, this delightful story relates the daily antics of a lively four-year-old girl. Sophie likes cornflakes, sunglasses, card games and great-great-aunt Alice. She is less fond of dresses, sardines in tomato sauce, plastic ponies and Dawn, her young neighbor. The discovery of a yellow snail sparks Sophie's interest in the animal kingdom. Someday, she decides, she would like to buy her own farm, and she starts a fund for the cause. In the meantime, Sophie is content to use the potting shed as a barn for a wide assortment of tiny creatures. Charming illustrations complement King-Smith's ( Babe the Gallant Pig ; Harry's Mad ) down-to-earth style and gentle wit. From a cast of engaging characters, Sophie emerges as a rugged, uncompromising heroine who will win readers' hearts. Ages 5-9. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3-- Four-year-old Sophie is very fond of animals. In fact, her life's ambition is to become a lady farmer, as she explains to her family in great detail, including the names of the cow, hens, pony, and spotted pig she plans to buy when she saves enough ``munny.'' In the meantime, she is honing her skills by keeping flocks and herds of wood lice, earwigs, and her favorite animals--snails. In this wonderful, easy reading, first chapter book, King-Smith introduces a determined and quite special heroine who will capture the hearts of all who come to know her. Her humorous antics, her dealings with her rambunctious six-year-old twin brothers, and her unique philosophies of life all ring pure and true and will leave their mark on readers. Minter-Kemp's numerous black-and-white line drawings capture the family's warmth and highlight the fun. For those children with an appreciation for the small wonders in life, add Sophie to your lists.--Luann Toth, ``School Library Journal'' (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. This is an odd little book; the young heroine, Sophie, only four years old, seems closer to six or seven. Certainly, the story will be most accessible and of greater interest to that older group. Sophie, a British girl, stars in five vignettes that show her independence and determination. In the first, Sophie and her brothers' snail race teach her that slow and steady can win. In another, Sophie decides to be a lady farmer and nothing will change her ambition. Worlds away from King-Smith's fantasies, this book is really a finely tuned character study. Whether this book will successfully cross the Atlantic on its child appeal is debatable, but it can't be faulted on the writing, which is top-notch. --Ilene Cooper

Horn Book Review

Fiction: Y A book intended for young readers centers on four-year-old Sophie and her struggle to hold her own against her lively, older twin brothers. Her determined independence and amusing misadventures may remind readers of a younger, British Ramona Quimby. Review, p. 89. Horn Rating: Superior, well above average. Reviewed by: ert (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Six stories about a remarkably self-possessed four-year-old and her family. Like her creator, Sophie takes a serious interest in animals of all kinds--her life-plan is to buy a farm, and she already has a piggy bank labeled ""farm munny."" Her twin brothers scoff, but Dad has her measure: ""Your sister may be small but she is a very determined person."" Meanwhile, Sophie keeps pets suitable to a London garden: an intelligent-looking little snail with a shell of ""lovely buttercup yellow"" that has a near-tragedy down the sink; woodlice, in the potting shed, occasioning a memorable confrontation with a beruffled new neighbor--a little girl Sophie scorns for thoroughly sensible reasons. There are also comic interactions with Dad, whom Sophie ""amuses"" at length when he's laid flat by a bad back; and with Great-great-aunt Alice from the Highlands, who proves to be a kindred spirit. Anyone who delights in the wordplay of the Winnie-the-Pooh books will find King-Smith's sharply observed, witty portrait of this memorable child appealing; paradoxically, down-to-earth Sophie and her tender regard for real little animals is a refreshing contrast to Milne's whimsy and sentimentality. Perfect as a readaloud. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.